


Tonal Chills

by TheMockingCrows



Category: Homestuck
Genre: ASMR, M/M, Masturbation, audio kink
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-02
Updated: 2016-05-02
Packaged: 2018-06-05 20:14:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6721699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheMockingCrows/pseuds/TheMockingCrows
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Dave starts avoiding John, he assumes it's because of something that's changed. Puberty was a weird time for all of them, but.. all this time later, it's still happening. When John finally breaks down and asks his friend what's up, the answer may not be quite what he expected.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tonal Chills

**Author's Note:**

> For my dear friend and RP partner. 
> 
> original tumblr post: http://themockingcrows.tumblr.com/post/143714478997/tonal-chills-johndave-oneshot

“..Maybe it's just me.”

 

Well, what else could he explain it away as? Literally every time he was face to face alone with Dave, finally able to chill like friends should, he came up with lamer and lamer excuses to leave. Contact would pick up shortly after over the phone, though strictly by text. Hell, lately it was even happening in groups, too!

Texting and talking online were daily occurrences, sometimes hourly. There was never that long of a lull in conversation between them, even when they were busy. Dave was an absolute chatterbox in person, he'd witnessed it around friends when they were talking about something that kept him interested, and he heard constantly from Jade and Rose that he was actually hard to get to shut up sometimes. Tangents were like air for the guy.

During Skype calls when they were all gaming, Dave would be silent or drop the call entirely when John entered. He'd refuse to pick up the ringing call if John sent it, and actually got to the point of asking in the chat if John was in the call or not before popping on. If he lied and said he wasn't in the call, Dave would enter then immediately bounce as soon as John spoke.

 

It had to be him.

 

What was even so bad?

Was it his snort when he laughed? It.. It wasn't always like this, was it? John could remember times when they were younger that Dave wasn't so fast to amscray as soon as he spoke. Maybe it was puberty kicking him in the testicles that did it. His voice had dropped a good deal after its period of squawking and breaking, maybe he just couldn't handle listening to that.

The thought of being found audibly disgusting by such a close friend was bad enough. But with Dave being someone he was crushing on..? Misery inducing. Something was wrong with John that made his crush physically unable to listen to him. Maybe with enough vocal training he could ditch the lower tone. Or something.

 

At least they could talk by text a lot.

It wasn't the same really, but the next week of classes, he noticed a trend. Whenever he turned up, Dave seemed to steel himself physically and try to stick around. Once you spoke at all, though, he'd tug his headphones on or plug in a set of earbuds despite pointed looks from Rose and Jade.

 

“Dave, come on, don't be rude! John JUST got here!” Jade would complain. Dave would shrug.

 

… Was his face red, or was it just the light? He's not looking up even from behind his shades, you can't spot what he's doing.. What's going on in his head?

Weeks of this back and forth dance, of watching Dave turn various shades of red any time you spoke and dodging call after call after call, John finally had enough. He whipped out his phone, flopped onto his bed, and started typing everything out in a rush before he could think better.

 

EB: look, is it just me?  
EB: did i do something bad?  
TG: wait what  
EB: i obviously did something wrong, or bad, or weird.  
EB: why else would you refuse to talk to me?  
TG: dude im talking right now  
TG: this is kind of out of nowhere  
TG: since when have i been avoiding you at all

 

He groaned in frustration. No going back now.

 

EB: for ages!!  
EB: every time i enter a call, you leave.  
EB: every time i turn up near everyone else, you leave.  
TG: hey not every time i didnt leave at all the last few weeks  
TG: and we talk all the damn time  
EB: see? even you admit it! and we do not talk all the damn time, we text! that's not the same as talking, dave.  
TG: talking is over rated id rather text  
EB: you don't have a problem talking with jade. or rose. or anyone else, actually! it's just me that you seem to run off from!  
TG: ive got a good reason  
EB: i'm dying to hear this. no like, literally i am. i want to know what is it about me that's making you run away. EB: can you just tell me?  
EB: i'm not wrecking some rule of broship or something?  
TG: …  
TG: its complicated and im pretty sure you wouldnt even get it

 

John wanted to gnaw on his phone in frustration, but kept typing.

 

EB: what's there not to get! what's there _to_ get?  
TG: like i said its complicated  
EB: then get on skype and we can talk this out  
TG: text is fine  
EB: no, text is not fine! dave come on, talk to me! we're friends, we see each other all the time, you can't keep avoiding me forever!  
EB: if i did something wrong, at least let me know so i can hope to fix it.  
EB: please.  
EB: i'm kind of going nuts here trying to figure this out!  
TG: youre gonna laugh if you understand it and im not about that life  
EB: dave. please.  
TG: …  
TG: your voice fucks me up

 

Oh, god there it was. Admission. It was totally something wrong with John that was suddenly driving Dave away, wasn't it.

 

EB: look, i know it's really weird sounding now, but that's not my fault!  
EB: you got deeper too, dave. puberty was a thing. we're not squeakers anymore.  
EB: i can, uh. try falsetto or something if you want?  
EB: god that would sound so strange though..  
TG: john youre not getting it  
TG: your voice fucks me up as it is  
TG: like  
TG: dont change it  
EB: it's a.. good kind of fucking you up?  
EB: how does that even work out?  
TG: usually to about ten jerks in a private space if experience talks

 

Jesus fucking Christ. John's heart picked up in tempo, violently hammering in his chest. Could he be misinterpreting that? Was.. Was that really what Dave meant?

 

EB: i.  
EB: pardon?  
TG: look i said you wouldnt get it and i was right  
EB: no! i'm trying to understand, but i don't really get it. can you elaborate?  
TG: get on skype and im pretty sure itll be crystal clear  
EB: let me guess. text only?  
TG: if you want a general idea start a call  
TG: if you want the full lowdown turn your camera on  
EB: you'll just run from the call immediately!  
TG: im done running if youre really wanting to know  
TG: i already fucked up by talking about it earlier  
TG: the cat is out of its proverbial lunch sack and it stole all the damn sandwiches i was gonna subsist off of while being a hermit  
TG: the most ill lose is a lot of face with someone i really like which ive apparently already lost with all the ollies lately  
EB: you sure?  
TG: see you on skype  
TG: do me a favor and make sure your door is shut

 

John continued to stare at his phone for a moment, biting at his lip. He checked the time. Dad wouldn't be home for another few hours, if he was pulling the usual extra hour or two of the season to help out. Slowly, John went and closed his door before turning on his computer, loading up Skype. Jade and Rose were already in a call in the group chat, but he turned off notifications. A new chat was set up, with only Dave and himself invited.

 

He'd titled it Headphones.

 

  * uh. hello?




 

Without missing a beat, Dave initiated a video call. John stared, hesitated.. and accepted. The little blue light on his laptop flickered on even as he sat adjusting his messy black hair with the tip of his tongue sticking out, trying to look presentable. Or, well. Better than it usually looked. This was apparently An Event.

 

“Hey. Dude, careful, your hair could eat your hands and still be hungry for dessert,” came Dave's voice, warm and smooth now that he was a few years grown into the tone. It was a voice to relax to, even when he went on a tangent. A voice to nod to and believe, because even if he exaggerated and went on wild twists, there was no way Dave would hurt anyone.

“Yeah, well, easy for you to say. Your hair actually behaves when you brush the stuff down. I swear mine purrs if I brush it just right, it's an animal,” he laughed, glancing up at the screen. Dave's face was red again, shoulders drawn up towards his ears. Was he.. was he shivering? No. Shuddering? There was no way it was cold at Dave's place, he and Bro were practically lizards with how toasty they kept the apartment.

 

What wa-

He'd spoken. John had spoken, and Dave had started shuddering. John speaking made Dave red.

Science had to happen. John stared for a moment at the screen as Dave collected himself, rubbing a hand idly at his nose as his freckles faded from sight and the flush went away.

 

“...So,” John said after a moment or two, still studying. “Tell me about that game you pre-ordered?”

Another shudder, more red face, down his neck this time. Stronger reaction? Why, because direct question? More science must happen. After Dave collected himself and explained that the pre-order was actually Bro's doing and that it was supposedly the shittiest game of the year with the best graphics, John launched another attempt.  
  
“Oh? How so?”  
  
Still red, but less physical response than last time. Dave was mid-reply when John licked his lips briefly and focused on the screen.

 

“Take your shades off for me. I can't focus on talking if I keep seeing the reflection of your screen. Screenception kinda sucks, yeah?”

 

Dave froze in place like a deer in headlights, but went ahead and took them off, setting them to the side. He was actually focusing on the screen now, flush rising up under his freckles again. Time to pounce.

 

“Okay. Dave. Really. I'm here, I've got the cam on, I'm talking. Can you maybe go into detail about.. y'know. Earlier?” John asked haltingly, but quickly raised his hands when Dave looked tense. “I mean. You offered, y'know?”

“Yeah. Just. ..You closed your door, right?” Dave prompted, trying to peek around John's back before disappearing to close his own door with a click of the lock before returning.

“Yeah. Dad's not home yet anyway.”

“Good. ..Keep talking.”

“Uh. About what?” John asked, brows furrowed.

“Anything. Just. Keep talking to me. Tell me a story. Whatever the fuck you want,” he promised. “Just talk to me, and.. I dunno. Leave or tell me to stop if it gets weird.”

“Dave, I do-”

“Just talk.”

 

John bit at his lower lip and stared at his friends red eyes, feeling his own cheeks warm up, before he started to recount his younger years. First his failed attempts at riding his green slime ghost pogo as a kid and the time it nearly broke his arm. Then, a vacation he and his dad took to the coast where he was, briefly, the king of the tide pools and lord of the seaweed. A castle he and his dad built even got photographed for some local paper along with a summer piece, he'd need to dig out the picture sometime, if only to look back on how dumb he looked when he was younger.

Dave was squirming the longer John talked, lips parting after the first minute as his breathing picked up into a pant. ..Dave was panting, listening to John shoot the shit. Squirming. John was pretty sure his hand was moving on his lap. Licking his own lips again, he decided to push the envelope again.

“...And a few years back, I spent some time looking around online once I learned how to block popups and auto-scripts and got an idea of what kind of porn I liked.”

“ _John_ ,” Dave all but moaned, picking up on what he was doing, “you don't _need_ to tell me something sexy. Just talk. Please. Talk. Keep talking.”

His voice was breathy, strained, not at all the smooth honey John was used to hearing. Needy. It went straight to his dick, and John glanced over his shoulder before casually undoing his button and zipper since Dave seemed to be doing the same damn thing. He'd never dreamed this would happen. How was this happening. And all because of him talking..? Wa-

 

“Dave, are you getting off on my voice?”

“Tone. Tone of voice. _Your_ voice,” he clarified, hiccuping a breath before shaking again, arm moving more visibly.

“Specifically my voice. How does that even work?” John asked, keeping his tone even to keep Dave shaking in his seat. It was strange seeing him breaking down over the cam, reaching up with his right hand to clutch his headphones against his ear while his left hand continued to move. It felt dirty, thrilling, confusing. If they were playing a game together and the call had been live, no wonder he wouldn't be able to play. Sounding like this, falling apart like this, seemed pretty counter-intuitive to actually not being eaten by zombies.

 

“You ever heard of somethin' called ASMR?” Dave said between pants, obviously getting more into it. John moved his fist idly as he grew erect in response.

“I've seen it on Youtube but I never looked into it. Tell me about it,” John said, trying to make his voice firmer, thrilled at the positive way Dave responded to everything he'd been doing. Holy shit, if he was actually there in person instead of across a camera..

“It's where, like. Certain tones or sounds make your skin crawl in the best fuckin' way. Some people use'm to relax, some to distract themselves.”

“And you use it to get off.”

“Your voice's right in that fuckin' range that goes straight to my dick, god damn it, it wasn't this way before your voice dropped,” Dave babbled, frustrated. “Do you have any idea how hard it is to already be delain' with random boners from hormones, then suddenly your best bro turns up sounding like the best wet dream of your life more and more often?”

 

John's hand stilled as a memory clicked.

 

“Dave. That day after I started dropping. You kept staring. Were yo-”

“Could fuck a hole into a diamond.”

“Jesus. And the reason you kept dropping calls was-”

“Rose knows. Rose guessed, and when she wanted specifics I explained a bit. Jade doesn't know, and I'd rather keep it that way. She's so sunny she'd be tryin' to like, record you or some shit to try helping me get over it or enjoy it more. I've got no idea.”

“Dave, I had no idea, I thought you hated me or I sounded weird, or something like th-”

“ _Please keep talking, John,_ _ **please**_ ,” Dave asked, crooning. The heat rose in John's stomach again, skipped the gap, and wound up in his hand in a shock. Oh. Oh, fuck, that.. Oh no, that was fucking embarrassing. Can't let on, stay calm, stay calm. Try to think straight.

“So if you could have sex with a voice, it'd be mine?”

“Not just a voice.”

Whoa, what.

“Don't fuckin' look at me like that! I'm sittin' here crankin' my yank while you talk about slime pogos and sand in your dork shorts, do you really think I've got room to fib about shit like that?” Dave snapped, shuddering again when John crooned at him.

 

He decided to just keep talking, recounting things he knew about Dave, things they'd done together. The time they went to the zoo, and hatched conspiracy theories about the monkeys, and how John had wanted to adopt half the reptile house. By the time Dave seemed to come undone, John had moved on to describing Dave himself as John saw it. With the strangled noise and Dave dropping his head so his hair was in his eyes, John went quiet, taking the time to wipe his hand off properly as Dave recovered.

 

“...Dave.”

“John. Look, I. ...I should've come clean about that sooner. But there's really no way to explain to someone 'hey, I already had the hots for you and now I'm physically attracted to your voice, please beware of random boners you will be causing the longer I'm around you', y'know?”

 

John grinned a bit.

 

“Well.. Sort of. Now, I know about it. ...And we can do this again? If you want?” John asked, before pushing a little further. “...Maybe in person, even?” he all but whispered.

Dave jerked slightly at the shoulders and he had to physically restrain himself from reaching down once more.

“Dude, whoa, careful where you fuckin' whisper, these headphones are sensitive.”

“Would you be up to that?”

“...Maybe.”

"...Would you be up to another one? Before my Dad gets home?"

".... Yeah."

 

The headphone sessions became weekly events when both of them were home alone. Public meetings were dealt with a little easier, Dave keeping his headphones on and music low so he could hear everyone but John's tone was muffled. He did the same during skype calls, playing music at the same time as playing or talking with everyone.

The face to face sessions, whispers in the low light of their rooms, light touches mingling with words?

That happened more often than either of them were willing to admit, even AFTER they finally admitted they were dating. After all, who wanted to be the one to explain the tonal chills this time?

 


End file.
